Neighbors love center, but hate planned apartments

While plans to rebuild and expand the 58-year-old Booker T. Washington center at the edge of the Western Addition got a lot of lip service at the Planning Commission this afternoon, the 47 units of affordable housing that will help pay for that project look to be in trouble.

More than a dozen neighbors showed up to complain loudly about the apartment building that will share the half-acre site with the center, tossing out words like “monstrosity,” “inappropriate,” “massive” and “out of place.”

They argued that their neighborhood of two- and three-story Victorians could be dwarfed by a modern-looking five-story apartment building at Presidio Avenue and Sutter Street.

About half the proposed apartments would be set aside for young people, including those aging out of foster care, who would have services provided by the center. That’s a priority for the trustees of the non-profit center. But the apartment complex also would provide $2 million to help with construction of the new recreation center on the site.

While the commissioners took no action on the proposed environmental impact report for the project, they made it clear there were concerns about the size of the apartment complex, which is currently too tall and too large for the current zoning and will need special permits from the commission.

“My thought is there have to be some changes” when the details of the project come back to the commission for approval, probably later this year, said Commissioner Michael Antonini.